Joseph Andrew McLean (born 30 November 1979) is a Scottish filmmaker. He has written, produced & directed commercials, documentaries, music videos and short films in the UK & USA.

Early life and education

McLean was born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Scotland, the son of Anne (née Wason), and Alistair McLean. He has three older siblings Lynn, Alyson and James. He attended St. Peter's Primary in

Partick Partick ( sco, Pairtick, Scottish Gaelic: ''Partaig'') is an area of Glasgow on the north bank of the River Clyde, just across from Govan. To the west lies Whiteinch, to the east Yorkhill and Kelvingrove Park (across the River Kelvin), and ...

and

St. Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known ...

Secondary School in

Jordanhill Jordanhill ( sco, Jordanhull, gd, Cnoc Iòrdain)
is an ...

. Born on St. Andrew's Day, he is named after Scotland's

Patron Saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

. He had a love of film from a young age and was an avid cinema goer, frequenting the local Grosvenor Cinema in

Ashton Lane Ashton Lane is a cobbled backstreet in the West End of Glasgow. It is connected to Byres Road by a short linking lane beside Hillhead subway station and is noted for its bars, restaurants and a licensed cinema. Overview The Lane was not always ...

and the Salon Cinema in

Hillhead Hillhead ( sco, Hullheid, gd, Ceann a' Chnuic) is an area of Glasgow, Scotland. Situated north of Kelvingrove Park and to the south of the River Kelvin, Hillhead is at the heart of Glasgow's fashionable West End, with Byres Road forming th ...

. In 2013 he graduated from the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

with a

Master of Arts (Scotland) The degree of Master of Arts (MA; , ) in Scotland is an undergraduate degree. The degree can be either a three-year general or four-year ''Honours degree'' in humanities or social sciences, awarded by one of several institutions. Chiefly, the ...

in English Literature and Politics. Joseph studied screenwriting at the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Franci ...

and

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal chart ...

Career

Joseph made a number of short films during his time at university in California and

. His first feature film script ''Utopia'', a docudrama loosely based on the events surrounding

Jim Jones James Warren Jones (May 13, 1931 – November 18, 1978) was an American preacher, political activist and mass murderer. He led the Peoples Temple, a new religious movement, between 1955 and 1978. In what he called "revolutionary suicide ...

, the founder and leader of the

Peoples Temple The Peoples Temple of the Disciples of Christ, originally Peoples Temple Full Gospel Church and commonly shortened to Peoples Temple, was an American new religious organization which existed between 1954 and 1978. Founded in Indianapolis, Ind ...

, best known for the mass murder-suicide in November 1978 of 909 of its members in

Jonestown The Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, better known by its informal name "Jonestown", was a remote settlement in Guyana established by the Peoples Temple, a U.S.–based cult under the leadership of Jim Jones. Jonestown became internationall ...

, Guyana was voted runner-up at the 20th Anniversary

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a public land-grant research university in Irvine, California. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, UCI offers 87 undergraduate degrees and 129 graduate and p ...

Screenwriting Festival in 2012. After leaving university, McLean founded his own production company Partickular Films which specialises in commercials, documentaries, films and music videos. In 2013, he released the short film ''Sectarian Secret Police'' about a Partick Thistle supporter who is kidnaped by a special police unit who demand he disowns his favourite football team in favour of Rangers or Celtic. Thomas Simpson of Movie Scramble wrote 'As a comical approach to a serious subject it does evoke the required laughs.' The film screened at numerous film festivals throughout the UK, including Screentest: The National Student Film Festival in London and the Loch Ness film festival. In the same year he also directed the music video ''Nothing on Earth'' for the band Casual Sex, the music video was showcased by SXSW and featured in The Daily Record and The Skinny. In 2014, McLean wrote a pilot for a TV series called ''2014'' which revolved around the organisers for the 2014 Commonwealth Games. He was commissioned to write a script for an animated film as part of ''Deep Roots'', Kilmarnock's major

Homecoming Scotland Homecoming Scotland 2009 was a series of events designed to attract people of Scottish ancestry to visit Scotland. The campaign, organised by EventScotland and VisitScotland on behalf of the Scottish Government, and part-financed by the E ...

event in 2014, charting the history of

Dean Castle Dean Castle is situated in the Dean Castle Country Park in Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, Scotland. It was the stronghold for the Boyd Family, who were lords of Kilmarnock for over 400 years. The Castle takes its name from ‘The Dean’ or woode ...

and the Boyd Family, who were lords of Kilmarnock for over 400 years. The 10-minute animation was screened onto the side of the castle to an audience of over 1400 local school children. His short film ''Nomad'' about the Scottish Independence Referendum was inspired by a scene from

The Parallax View ''The Parallax View'' is a 1974 American political thriller film produced and directed by Alan J. Pakula, and starring Warren Beatty, Hume Cronyn, William Daniels and Paula Prentiss. The screenplay by David Giler and Lorenzo Semple Jr. was base ...

starring

Warren Beatty Henry Warren Beatty (né Beaty; born March 30, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker, whose career spans over six decades. He was nominated for 15 Academy Awards, including four for Best Actor, four for Best Picture, two for Best Director, ...

. The film was screened at the Shorts on Tap ''Beyond Scotland'' event at 93 Feet East, Brick Lane, London.Shorts on Tap – Beyond Scotland
/ref> He is a member of BAFTA Scotland.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
Joseph Andrew McLean WebsitePartickular Films
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mclean, Joseph Andrew Living people Scottish film directors Scottish screenwriters 1979 births Alumni of the University of Glasgow People educated at St Thomas Aquinas Secondary School, Glasgow Film people from Glasgow